Positive feed food chopper



Feb. 17, 1948. G. .HANIQUET POSITIVE FEED FOOD CHOPPER Filed July 21, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR. 6202 GE 174N747 (/5 T BY M flJ/Q ATTORNEY-5" Feb. 17, 1948.

G. HANIQUET POSITIVE FEED FOOD CHOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21, 1944 m i H 2 *m a w M12 4 0 m h @EY. 0N \ET,- GB www !===E Patented Feb. 17, I948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POSITIVE FEED FOOD CHOPPER George Haniquet, Glendale, Calif.

Application July 21, 1944, SerialNo. 545,916

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in a ositive feed food chopper, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a positive feed food chopper in which novel means is used for forcing the material from the hopper end. of the device to the cutting end. I have found that the ordinary food chopper or grinder will not. force leafy vegetables through the cutter end' and therefore. it cannot be used for this type of grinding. The screw becomes clogged with the leafy vegetable and the device must be dismantled to clean it. The novel means I use for positively moving the material to the cutting end,

is actuated by the spiral. screw of the chopper. Any soft leafy vegetable can be ground without the device clogging.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described which is simple in construction and is durable and efficient for the purpose intended.

' Other objects and advantages will appear in. the followin specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisapplication, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device showing my invention operatively applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device portions being broken away for clarity;

Figure 3' is a section taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure 2: and

Figure 4' is a perspective view ofthe. upper food chopper section.

While I. have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In carrying out my invention I provide a device comprising a hopper indicated at l and this hopper delivers material into a food-receiving channel 2, in which a screw?! is rotatably mounted which in part is for advancing the material from the hopper to'the cutting end of" the device. The hopper is of ordinary construction.

A casing 4, see Figure 1, has the channel 2 and the casing is mounted on a support 5 that in turn has a plate 6 designed to rest upon a table l or other" like supporting surface. A clamping screw 8' bears against the underside of the table and may be tightened in p ace by a winged portion 3 for clamping the device to the table in the customary manner. The casing 4 is divided horizontally into two parts, av lower part do that is integral with the member 5 and an upper partv 4b that is integral with the hopper I. Figure 2 shows the lower part do provided with hooks H). The upper part it has trunnions lflb, see Figure l. that are designed to be received in the semicylindrical recesses Illa provided in the hooks. The hooks. it face downwardly and when assem bling the upper part 4b to thehooks this part is inverted and moved until the trunnions [0b are received in the grooves Illa. The upper part is now swung about the axis of the two grooves as a pivot until the hopper I assumes an upright position and the upper part rests on the lower part, The upper part is locked in place by a means presently to be described.

The screw 3 has an end bearing ll rotatably received in one end of the channel 2, see Figure 2. The other end of the screw has a cylindrical portion 12 that is received in the bore 13 of a stationary cutter M. The cutter may be an integral part of the casing 4 or it may be removably secured in the casing. The cutter is held against rotation and has openings 15 through which the ma.- terial is forced by the screw 3, and the pusher wheel l l.

A rotatable cutter 16 has a face l'Ga designed to bear against the outer face of thestationary cutter l4 and a rotation of the cutter l6 will. sever the material passing through the openings [5 and cut it into small pieces. Figure 1 shows the ratating cutter It as having a. plurality of radially extending cutting members ilib and these members move past the openings i 5 during the operation of the device. The cutter H3. is operatively connected to the screw 3 by lugs H which are received in keyways l8. One or more lugs may beused. and I have indicated two lugs in Figure 2. Any other means for connecting the. rotating cutter with the, screw 3 may be used. A .wing nut I9 is threaded upon a shank. 29' that is integral. with the screw 3 and the wing nut clamps the rotatable cutter in place. A handle 2| is mounted on a reduced portion 22 of the screw 3 and is held in place by .any suitabi-e means such as a screw 23', see Figure 1.

I provide a ositive material-moving means fer the screw 3. and thisv means comprises a pusher wheel 24. that is disc-shaped as shown in Figure 2. The wheel may be of any size desired and. has a periphery formed. of semi-circular sections 24a that have their outer curved edges 24b designed to be received in the helical groove 3a of the screw 3. When the screw is rotated the pusher wheel 24 will likewise be rotated because the sections 24a will be received in the groove 3a and will be moved in much the same manner as a worm uperates a worm wheel. The point to keep in mind is that the curved edges 24b are received snugly in the groove 3a so as to prevent food in the groove from riding around with the screw. At the same time there is no undue friction between the pusher edge 24b and the groove.

In Figure 3 I show how the pusher wheel 24 is rotatably secured in place, the lower casing part 4a has a disc-like portion 25 integral therewith and provided with a depression 26 of the same size and depth as the wheel 24. The wheel has a hub 21 and the hub is received in a hearing 28 formed in the lower disc portion 25. Figure 3 also shows the rims of the sections 24a bevelled at 24c so that they will have a cutting efiect on the food rather than a crushing effect. The cutting effect is secondary to the main function of the sections which is to move the food along the helical groove of the screw 3.

The upper casing part 4b has an upper disc portion 29 that has its rim 29a received in a groove 25a, see Figures 2 and 3. A retaining screw 30 locks the two disc parts 25 and 29 together and has a cylindrical portion 30a, around which the hub 21 rotates. A wing nut 3| is integral with the portion 30a and may be tightened for securing the disc parts together while still permitting a free rotation of the pusher wheel.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

When the parts are assembled in the manner already described, food or other material may be placed in the hopper l and a rotation of the screw 3 will move the food to a position where it will be acted upon by the segments of the pusher wheel and moved forwardly through the channel 2. Figure 2 shows one of the segments 24a underlying the hopper I and entering the groove 3a to grip any food received therebetween and to aid in conveying it into the channel 2. If leafy vegetables are out they will be forced along the channel because the pusher wheel sections 24a willact as stops or barriers to prevent the food from rotating with the screw and clogging it. Since the food is moved along the helical channel of the screw by the pusher wheel it will be forced through the openings i5 of the stationary cutter. The rotating cutter has its cutting fins or ribs lfib continuously passing the outer ends of the openings 15 and therefore the material issuing through the openings will be cut into small pieces. By means of the pusher wheel vegetables of all types may be cut into small pieces.

The device may be readily disassembled for cleaning and to accomplish this, the screw 30 is removed and then the upper casing part 41) is swung about the trunnions H until the hopper i is facing downwardly. At this point the trunnions Illb may be removed from the grooves a. If the stationary cutter is of the removable type the screw 3, the two cutters l4 and I6 and the wing nut I! may be removed as a unit. This will free the channel 2 for cleaning and the cutters may be disassembled from the screw for cleaning.

If the stationary cutter I4 is an integral part of the lower casing 4a, the nut 19 may be removed and then the rotating cutter 16, after which the screw 3 may be removed from the opening 13 and the parts cleaned. It is obvious that the stationary cutter may be integral with the upper half 4b of the casing rather than with the lower half, if desired. Should the cutter M be entirely removable, it can be hardened and ground and this will make a higher grade food chopper or grinder.

The pusher wheel 24 may have as many segments 24a as desired and not necessarily the number illustrated. Each succeeding segment will take its turn in coming into proximity with the cutter end of the screw. The device will chop or grind the food received in the hopper and will discharge all of the food whether it is meat or soft leafy vegetables such as spinach leaves. The longitudinal movement of the food through the channel 2 does not depend solely on the rotation of the screw 3 but does depend on a positive means such as the pusher wheel disposed near the cutter head for forcing the food through the discharge openings I 5.

The body of the casing could be made in one piece with a separate lid to cover the pusher wheel.

I claim:

A positive feed food chopper comprising a casing having a lower part with a half-cylindrical groove therein and a lower housing for a pusher wheel, an upper casing part having a half-cylindrical groove therein adapted to cooperate with the first-named half groove to form a cylindrical channel, said upper casing part having a hopper communicating with the second-named half cylindrical groove, av cover carried by the upper.

casing part and adapted to close the lower housing,a pusher wheel rotatably mounted between the lower housing and cover, a screw rotatably mounted in the channel and having a helical groove, said pusher wheel having convex segments in its periphery successively receivable in the groove as the screw is rotated, said segments causing any material in the groove to be advanced therealong. and material cutting means disposed at the end of the screw and actuated by the screw, said pusher wheel positively moving the material to the material cutting means to be acted thereupon, said lower casing parts having hooks constituting half-bearings, and said upper casin part having trunnions receivable in the hooks when the former is inverted, whereby the upper casing part can be swung into closed position after the trunnions are connected to the hooks, and a fastening screw for securing the cover to the lower housing part when the uppercasing part is in closed position, said fastening screw also acting as the bearing for the pusher wheel. GEORGE HANIQUET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date 

